Beautiful Death
by Aralus
Summary: A collection of drables, detailing her life as she was raised within the confines of the Cheydinal sanctuary by Vicente Valtieri. Rated M for later chapters.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own any material related to the Elder Scrolls series, unfortunately.

**A/N:** Yay! One I didn't edit again! I'm kidding. I went over it, but it's hard to concentrate when your two year-old cousin keeps kicking you in the face while watching _Scooby_ _Doo…_ I'm never having children. Anyway, this is going to be a series of drabbles about the "hero's" life as she grows within the arms of the Dark Brotherhood. After this I am hoping to write one set somewhere in the timeline where she is Lucien's silencer. There's a theme to these names and I'm trying to put it into the story, but I suck. (^-^)'

That's it, I hope you have fun reading this.

**Discovering Beauty**

Vicente Valtieri unceremoniously dropped the dying human in his arms to the ground, watching coldly as the woman took her last breaths. Her mouth open and closed slowly, desperately gasping for air through the blood running down her throat and into her lungs. Her brown eyes shone brilliantly in the light of the raging fire, the life in them fading rapidly. Her heart beat was erratic, weak, and Vicente listened to it as the beats became further and further apart until they stopped altogether and the woman's hand dropped to her side. His hunger satiated, the vampire took his handkerchief out and gingerly wiped the blood from the corners of his mouth.

Across from him, a boy the age of ten sat patiently while munching on a sweet roll from one of the whore's plates. Lucien Lachance, his name was. Vicente sat in a chair across from the boy and took him in. The boy was filthy, as boys often are at his age, and he looked positively pitiful. The boy's knees were skinned and his feet caked with dirt. His dirty clothes had holes and were frayed around the edges. Sithis only knew why the boy preferred his old clothes. "There is still one more person here," the child said, his deceptively sweet voice ringing softly, "Perhaps you should take care of them so that we can leave."

Vicente chuckled. A demanding child with a heart as cold as ice. He would make a wonderful addition to the Dread Father's ranks. "I know, child, but I think you may want to observe what life is there. I think you will find that it is not what it seems," the vampire extended his hand towards the staircase, "I will leave its fate to you."

Lucien nodded and leapt from his chair, wiping his hands off on his tunic calmly. He slowly made his way to the wooden staircase and looked back at Vicente when the vampire didn't follow. The boy placed his hand on the rail and slowly stepped his way up, the rotten stairs creaking despite the ease of the burden placed upon them. At the top of the stairs there was a bright red carpet embroidered with gold designs that spanned the hallway, the house's elegant seal at the center. Lucien picked his way past the first five doors, fully aware that his target was not in any of them. He followed the little bit of essence down to the very end of the hallway, pausing at the last door. Behind it was a soft heartbeat, almost too soft. The boy took a deep breath and opened the door, emitting a small gasp when he entered the room.

Vicente had followed the boy upstairs and made a small sound of astonishment when he entered the room behind Lucien. The room was ornately decorated in warm reds and golds, paintings hanging on the walls as if they were shrines. Pillows and blankets were thrown around the room, thick things stuffed with feathers, made of silk or velvet. Amongst the bed items, there were hundreds of small toys as if the room were a princess'. Indeed it was fit for a princess, the only room in the whorehouse whose extravagance was divine. And in the middle of it all, underneath a glimmering chandelier, was a baby, no more than a year old. She was a beautiful little thing, dark black hair perhaps an inch long sported a head band of cloth that had a rose embroidered on it. Her huge crystal blue eyes stared up at them, a round little finger in her mouth.

Lucien stared at the little girl, a look of disbelief on his face. It was a baby. The life he had detected was that of an infant. The little girl stared up at them, a smile on her face. "Da… Da?," the little girl asked, a toothless grin plastered on her flushed face. The boy frowned. She was much too young to be able to speak surely.

Vicente chuckled and went to pick the baby up. She clapped happily and chortled, her little feet kicking at the air. "No, child, I am not your father. I am afraid I know not who your father is." Of course, the child didn't mind. She simply giggled and touched his face, hitting her palm against his cold cheek. Her little feet were covered by red velvet booties and her little dress was cut of the same fabric, lace trimming on the edges. "What do you think, Lucien? Is she worth saving?," Vicente asked, switching her to the other arm. The vampire knelt down and the child giggled delightedly at the change in height.

Lucien stared at the child; her little arms were reaching out towards him. As if it were some sick joke, the vampire passed the baby to him. His arms were overtaken by her dress and he was surprised at how warm she really was. The little girl cooed as she snuggled against him, her head falling into his neck. She stayed there, leaning against him, the sweet smell of rose water emanating from her small form. "I am to decide the fate of this child?," he asked, stroking her head despite his reluctance to hold her, "Why?"

Vicente smiled. "I am curious. We have completed our contract; she is not part of it. It's a… test… of sorts," the vampire chuckled, watching the boy unconsciously rock the child to sleep. She was dozing, her fingers curled into the boy's hair. A little gold bracelet rested on her wrist, the extravagance a strange contrast to the boy's dirty little scruff. Lucien held the girl tighter, making the vampire smile. "Should you kill her, she would never feel pain. If you should choose to let her live, she could starve to death before anyone finds her," the vampire offered, leaning against the door frame.

Lucien frowned; displeased with the options the vampire had given him. "Your order took me in, did they not? What makes her any different?," he asked calmly, staring up at the man. He didn't want to kill the baby, nor did he want the vampire to do it. Though, he had the distinct feeling that the vampire wouldn't kill her anyway. Vicente seemed too soft for that. "She would be a child, raised only to know the cold embrace of our Dread Father. She would be a faithful servant of Sithis, untouched by any outside influences. What part of this doesn't sound appealing to you?," the boy questioned, pulling the embroidered headband from her head with a soft tug.

The vampire smiled down approvingly at the boy. He clearly could see what a waste it would be to kill the baby. Of course, that wasn't the only reason he wanted her alive. Lucien seemed protective of the little girl. He may have lost a younger sister or a friend. Vicente knelt down and took the baby from the boy's arms gently. She looked up at him blearily for a moment before cuddling her head against him and popping her thumb in her mouth. He smiled warmly at her; he always _had_ wanted a baby girl. "What shall we name her? Her mother can't tell me what her name is," Vicente chuckled, rocking her gently. Her warm body cuddled against his, winding her delicate little fingers in his dark shirt.

"Eriana," the boy said gently, tracing the stitching in her headband, "That's her name."

Vicente paused for a moment, mulling the name over in his mind. "There is no harm in letting her keep the name her mother gave her. It is a lovely name. Though I'm sure it'll be _Eri_ in a few years' time," he chuckled, patting the girl, "Grab a bag of her things; we will see what the Speaker has to say about our new edition. I'm sure she will approve."

Lucien nodded obediently, turning to find a bag big enough to carry what they needed. He folded a warm blanket, two of the glass bottles, a few outfits, and her teddy bear, snorting as he did so. The room was so magnificent for such a small child. He looked up at the girl in his guardian's arms. She had been loved very much by her mother. In-fact, he was sure all of the children born to the whores were well taken care of… He almost felt sorry for taking that away from her, never having felt the warmth of a mother's embrace himself, but he could see that the vampire would care for her just as much as her mother did. "These women spoil her, excessively so," the boy murmured, picking up a glimmering soul gem that had likely been the child's toy.

Vicente smiled, taking the bag from the boy and throwing it over his shoulder without disturbing the baby. "Wouldn't you? She was likely the only real joy that her mother had. It is often that way with whores," he gestured for the boy to lead the way out.

Lucien left the room, the child's little chortle and her glimmering blue eyes still in the front of his mind. "She will be very pretty," Lucien whispered, falling behind the vampire so he could watch the child's sleeping face. She didn't seem to particularly care that they had just killed her mother; she didn't even seem to notice. Of course, her limited intelligence made sure that she thought of them only as a source of affection and comfort. "Almost too pretty."

The man smiled and paused, looking down at the boy over the sleeping child. "Beautiful death… She will be a wonderful addition to our family."

"Eriana," the boy murmured, taking time to pronounce her full name… He really did like that name.

**A/N:** Yeah, I'm kinda happy with it. Otherwise I wouldn't have posted it. And it's in time for the New Year too! Well, it is in time here anyway. That's my new year's resolution, to actually finish writing in a decent amount of time. Tell me what you think about it, please. I like feedback of any kind. I will try to have the next chapter up by next Tuesday at the latest. For now, I smell a dirty diaper. Bye!

Love,

Ara ;o


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